Editorial: India’s push for self-reliance in Rare Earths

Though India is endowed with the fifth largest reserves of Rare Earth Elements, its output remains minimal, making a strong case for liberalising mining restrictions and attracting private investments to reduce imports

Rare Earth Elements (REE), a group of 17 elements that share a similar high density and high conductivity, are integral to modern living, with applications ranging from smartphones, missiles and MRI scanners to electric cars, defence equipment and LED lights. Amid the ongoing trade war with the United States, China has suspended exports of rare earth elements which are critical for technologies in every conceivable field. What drives the urgency for countries like India to have self-reliance in rare earth elements is the fact that China controls over 90% of these resources. Though India is endowed with the fifth largest reserves of REEs, its output remains minimal. There is a strong case for liberalising mining restrictions and attracting private investments to reduce imports. However, while doing so, care must be taken to protect the environment by adopting cleaner methods of mining and processing. At present, Beijing dominates the global rare earths supply chain and doesn’t hesitate to weaponise it. Its recent decision to impose curbs on exports has triggered global concerns about dependence and calls for diversification. India’s initiatives in this regard — launching the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in January this year with a public sector outlay of Rs 34,300 crore over seven years; Coal India, NTPC, and others announcing overseas ventures to explore battery minerals; unveiling plans to enter into bilateral pacts with mineral-rich African and Latin American countries — have come a bit late in the day. Many countries have moved much ahead of India in this area.

Moreover, the response to India’s auction for critical mineral blocks, unveiled in November 2023, has been lukewarm. Apparently keeping this in view, Union Mines Secretary VL Kantha Rao hinted at further changes in policy to bolster the NCMM. Currently, India remains 100% import-dependent for most critical minerals, including lithium, nickel, cobalt and germanium. Import of copper, also a key input for high-tech industry, has skyrocketed in recent years, with domestic production declining. On average, it takes over 16 years to develop lithium mines from the discovery stage to the first production. Experts say that while the policy push might have started creating an enabling environment, further focus on auction efficiency, investor confidence, and infrastructure will be crucial. The REEs are found in abundance in the Earth’s crust. However, they are rarely found in concentrations that are economically viable for mining. As a result, extracting and processing them is complex and expensive, requiring high-end techniques and specialised labour to isolate and purify them. Considered the ‘seeds of modern technology’, the rare earth elements are ubiquitous in our tech-driven lives. China produces 2.70 lakh tonnes of REEs annually. Despite having large reserves of REEs — estimated at 6.9 million tonnes —India produces less than 1 per cent of the total world share. The key reason is the negligible involvement of the private sector in mining.

---